


The Movie Repercussion

by marcelb



Category: The Big Bang Theory (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-23
Updated: 2014-02-02
Packaged: 2018-03-11 04:47:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3314531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marcelb/pseuds/marcelb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Penny's a successful actress. Her new movie is filmed partly on location at CalTech, where a short bespectacled physicist is assigned to help out with all the scientific details, including helping her pronounce all the "techno mumbo jumbo".</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Penny walked into her home, almost dead on her feet. Most shooting days were long, but today had been extra long, with several scenes requiring darkness and a bunch of scenes broad daylight. She had been up for nearly twenty-four hours and had had maybe three hours of rest spread out over the day.

She kicked off her heels and walked over to the master bedroom, undressed, and fell onto the bed. She checked her phone messages and found only one, from her fiancé, Brad, informing her that his movie was going overtime. Probably because you're the worst actor in the world, she thought to herself. But at least that meant she'd have another week or so before he would be back, which suited her just fine. Undoubtedly he'll keep himself busy banging the director's assistant or one of the extras.

She really hoped the tabloids would pick up on his infidelity soon, so she could finally end this farce, and go back to be by herself and just be happy. She still wasn't sure how she had let herself get talked into this arrangement. Her agent had gotten a call from his agent, looking for a temporary romance until Brad's career would take off. Unlikely to ever happen, Penny now realized, but her agent had indicated it would be beneficial to her as well, especially since she hadn't had a relationship since her acting career had started; being in a relationship would be the best possible thing for her now. So she had reluctantly agreed to the plan.

It hadn't seemed like such a bad idea, but Brad's agent kept pushing for the two of them to move in together which had eventually led to the engagement. By that time, she had already found out the guy literally slept with any woman who dared to be in his vicinity, and she was ready to bail out. Unfortunately, her agent had overlooked a certain clause in the contract, which didn't allow her to end it without a justifiable reason that could harm her career if she continued the charade. I.e., the tabloids needed to do their work and prove that he was sleeping around on her, and that apparently was not as easy as it seemed.

Luckily for her, he no longer even tried to get in the same bed as her. After his first try to have sex with her, she had kicked him in the balls and assured him if he tried that again, she would go all Nebraska on him. The idiot had tried again and had been lucky she only left some bruises in an area that would not be visible under normal circumstances. That had put a stop to his attempts.

Penny sighed and crawled under the covers before turning off the light. At least she had the Friday and the weekend all to herself with no work and, most importantly, no Brad to deal with.

* * *

"She's so hot. You know, if she and I would ever meet, I bet she'd be all over me in a heartbeat."

Leonard frowned. "Howard, you say that almost every week, each week about a different woman, and they're always unattainable. Maybe you should focus more on, I don't know, women that might actually be in your league? Besides, isn't she married or something?"

His friend shrugged. "Engaged, but the guy is a real douchebag. I'm fairly certain he's sleeping around on her."

Leonard grinned. "Probably with all the women you've claimed would be 'all over you.'"

"The point is," Howard continued, "their relationship is probably rocky already. So I think I'd have a real shot at her."

"Oh, yes, I'd say your chances of her being 'all over you' are about as good as Leonard's chances of winning a Nobel Prize," Sheldon agreed.

Leonard turned to his roommate. "Hey, I have just as big of a chance as you."

"And the both of you are equally delusional about your chances," Sheldon concluded.

Leonard was about to comment, when president Siebert's voice rang out. "Gentlemen. As you may have heard, starting this Monday a movie crew will be filming in and around our university for approximately two weeks. I've just been told that they would like one of the scientists to function in a consultancy role for their scientific scenes."

"Oh, I would not care for that at all," Sheldon interrupted.

"Don't worry, Dr. Cooper, we weren't planning on asking you. Dr. Hofstadter is the one who will be consulting the writers and setup various experiments. In addition you will be working with the female lead to help her with the science lines and performing the experiments on camera."

Leonard frowned. "Why me? I'm sure there's someone..."

"Who's the actress," Howard interrupted.

"Uhm, Penny… something."

Leonard knew where this was going and shook his head.

"Wait, are you saying this blonde goddess," Howard pointed to the picture he had shown earlier. "The hottest woman in the world will be here for two whole weeks?"

President Siebert turned to Howard. "Yes, Mr. Wolowitz. And no, you will not get to meet her." He turned back to Leonard. "Dr. Hofstadter, in case it wasn't clear, your cooperation is not optional."

"Leonard, you lucky bastard," Howard said to him, once president Siebert had walked off.

Leonard frowned. "Lucky? I don't think so."

"You get to work with her every day for two weeks, believe me, you're a lucky bastard."

"Oh really? And what makes you think that? You think she, and the entire crew, will be nice, treat me like a colleague? I'll tell you how they'll treat me. I'll be the egghead they need to make their story semi-believable, not a friend. I'll be the geek they can make fun of, all 'good natured ribbing', of course. It'll be like high school all over again."

* * *

"Penny? You're early."

Penny smiled at her agent, a dark skinned woman in her late forties. "Hi, Sheila. I had three days to rest, so that helped a lot. Besides, I figured the first day here, things may be a little hectic with fans and stuff."

Sheila leaned over to whisper in Penny's ear. "I heard Brad's movie went in overtime, so I guess you had a very good weekend?"

Penny nodded, but remained quiet, afraid anyone around them would hear or see how happy she was Brad had not returned yet.

Sheila winked at her nonverbal response. "So, the good thing is, CalTech is primarily a technical institution, meaning that most people here seem much more interested in all the equipment. Now, I'm not saying you won't have to deal with fans, but at the moment most of them are too occupied by the crew setting up." She motioned ahead. "So, I think we should see if our consultant is available, so the two of you can meet."

Penny nodded and followed her agent through the many corridors, trying to keep track of the route, but finding it almost impossible. "Ugh, I'd never find my way back."

Sheila turned around, smiling. "Don't worry. Your assistant knows the way by heart. She's probably already at the consultant's lab."

Penny nodded, making a mental note to ask Andrea to draw her a map, just in case. Eventually they arrived at a lab all the way at the end of the corridor, Sheila explaining they had chosen the location specifically to be out the way as much as possible. Sheila knocked on the doorframe and entered.

Penny followed and looked around in wonderment at the numerous devices present.

"Penny, this is Dr. Hofstadter," Sheila drew her attention to a short, dark haired man, his back turned towards them. "Dr. Hofstadter this is P..."

"Please, call me Leonard."

As he turned around she saw he wore glasses. She stuck out her hand. "Hi, you just call me Penny," she said, waiting for him to accept her handshake. As they shook hands, Leonard once again said his name, smiling nervously in just about every direction but her. "So, I guess we'll be working closely together for the next two weeks?"

He smiled nervously again, almost stammering out his single word confirmation. He looked like a poor puppy who thought he'd done something bad and would be punished, though for the life of her she couldn't figure out why he was so scared. After a few seconds he looked at her, frowning slightly and glancing back down every so often at their still joined hands.

Penny felt herself start to blush at the realization and let go of his hand. "Sorry," she said. She turned around, pretending to look at his lab, but mostly to hide her embarrassment. She frowned slightly at the surprised look and knowing smile on her agent's face, not quite understanding why the woman was looking like that.

"Well, now that the two of you have been introduced, I'll go see if I can find your assistant. She should know all the details. Will you be okay here, Penny? I don't know exactly when your assistant will be back."

Penny nodded. "Yeah, sure. If I need to go anywhere, Leonard, " she turned toward him, "can take me there, right Sweetie?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure."

She smiled brightly at him and turned back to Sheila. "See?" She frowned again when her agent was grinning at her.

"Yes, I do see," the woman replied, before leaning in for a hug, whispering, "be careful. Brad has to get caught first."

Penny's frown deepened as they parted. Was Sheila thinking she was interested in Leonard?

* * *

Leonard had to agree on one thing with Howard. This woman was just stunning, and almost certainly the most beautiful creature in the entire universe. And she was nothing like he had envisioned actresses to be. She had a warm, bright personality, and was telling him stories about growing up in a small town out of Omaha, on a farm, and how she had been able to rebuild a tractor engine at the age of twelve.

She told him she had moved to LA almost seven years ago with her then boyfriend, to see if she could have a career as an actress, and gotten her big break two years ago, when she was about ready to give up on her dream of making it big.

He felt her pain as she talked about her boyfriends and how they had all cheated on her. He couldn't begin to fathom why anyone lucky enough to have this woman's love would even be interested in other women.

He then told her about himself, initially just talking about the time since he had moved here, but gradually talking more about the time before that, emboldened by the fact Penny seemed very sympathetic, occasionally rubbing a hand on his arm. He felt more and more at ease being around her.

The both of them looked up at the sound of a throat being cleared to see Penny's assistant standing, an odd mixture of amusement and disapprovement on her face.

"Oh, hi, Andrea," Penny said brightly, jumping off the workbench she had sat on. "Have you met Leonard yet?"

The young woman nodded. "Yes, I have."

Leonard frowned at the warning tone of voice, and Penny's subsequent change in demeanor.

"Sheila told me you arrived earlier, which is great, since they'd like to start with wardrobe and make-up a little early. They're already waiting for you."

Penny nodded. "Okay." She turned around, smiling brightly. "See you soon, Leonard. Bye!"

"Uh, yeah. Bye." His frown remained even as she left his lab. Despite the seemingly happy way she said bye, something had happened to her when Andrea had arrived. But Leonard had no clue what or why.

* * *

"What the hell are you thinking?"

Penny frowned at Andrea, copying her whispered manner of speaking. "I was just talking to him."

Andrea stopped and pulled Penny to the side. "Listen to me. If you get caught interested in someone else then Brad, you'll be in a lot of trouble. You have to wait until he gets caught."

Her frown deepened. "I'm not interested in anyone."

"Oh please. When I walked in you were rubbing his arm, for Pete's sake! I saw what you were doing. I didn't believe it when Sheila told me you had fallen for the egghead..."

"His name is Leonard," Penny interrupted, feeling insulted on his behalf. "And I have not fallen for him. He's just a nice guy and easy to talk to, that's all."

"Whatever," Andrea said. "Just don't go too far with this Beauty and the Geek thing." She then continued to wherever they were going.

Penny followed her, the frown remaining. Why were people suddenly thinking she'd fallen for Leonard? He was just nice. And sure, he was kinda good looking, in a less obvious way, but she hadn't fallen for him. She was just being a nice person, a friend.

Yeah, they could be friends. Being friends was good. Friends hung out together. Friends could rub each others arms in sympathy, or give each other consoling hugs. She could still see his smile, his curly black hair or look at his cute tushy whenever his back was turned to her. "Holy crap on a cracker!" She felt a blush starting to spread across her face.

Andrea looked back and grinned, despite her obvious disapproval. "Realized something, did ya?"

She glared back, still feeling the blush. "Shut up."

"Just be careful, Penny."

She nodded, wondering what to do now. For the next two weeks she'd be working with him on a daily basis. If both Sheila and Andrea had picked up on what she now realized to be a crush at the very least, it wouldn't take long for others to notice. She really needed to be professional here, ignore her feelings, at least when others were around. She was going to need her acting abilities twenty-four-seven.

* * *

Leonard frowned as Howard left his lab, not quite sure what had happened. One minute they'd been talking, Leonard telling him about meeting Penny, the next Howard blew up in his face about being a hypocrite and to stay away from her. He shrugged and turned back to his workbench to go over the setup once more. Howard was probably just jealous since he had been ordered to stay away from the beautiful actress. Besides, Leonard had no time to think of what possibly might be going through his friends mind; he needed to make sure he hadn't made a mistake that would make him look like a fool to Penny.

She really was an amazingly sweet woman, he thought to himself, a little smile forming as he thought back to their conversation earlier in the lab. She had just jumped up on an empty part of the workbench as she told him about her life. She'd seemed so at ease, had not put him down further as he told her about his life. It had just been an amazingly fun and relaxed half hour with just the two of them.

He found he was actually looking forward to spend more time with her, even if it was just helping her with her lines and the various scenes in which she had to use the equipment in his lab. He didn't really care for the other people that were going to be there, various meetings with both crew and cast having already shown him even adults and professionals could still be cruel.

"Hi!"

Leonard turned toward the door to see Penny standing there, make-up all done and wearing clothes that would be totally impractical but showed off her beautiful figure. "Hey, you found your way back."

She grinned as she entered the lab. "Uh-huh, thanks to this handy little map Andrea gave me," she waved a piece of paper, her grin disappearing. "Though I still got lost at one point." Her smile returned. "But I made it!"

He grinned back at her. "Well, I'm glad you didn't get lost permanently." He suddenly remembered something. "Oh, do you have a smartphone with GPS on it? Because my friend made an app with all the corridors, labs, rooms, the entire campus. And because it knows your position, it can direct you to wherever you need to go."

She moved over to him, retrieving her iPhone. "That sounds like exactly the thing I'm going to need."

He accepted her phone, configured it for the university's WiFi network, and then installed the app Howard had designed. Minutes later the app was up and running and he suddenly noticed how close the beautiful actress was standing to him, looking over his shoulder. "Okay, let me show you how to use it. Here, you can select where you need to go, and here you can specify if you need to pass a certain other location. The system automatically tracks when corridors are blocked due to maintenance, so you'll always get where you need to go."

Penny's finger moved over the display, pressing herself slightly against him in the process. "And I can set the location as a favorite with this button, right?"

Leonard nodded. "Yep." He watched as she marked the current location and named it 'Leonard'.

"So," she said after pocketing the phone, gesturing at his workbench. "This is the science-y thing needed in the scene we'll shoot tomorrow?"

Leonard looked at the setup, suddenly realizing he hadn't spent a lot of time going over it to rule out any mistakes, and found himself become nervous. What if there was a mistake? "Uh, yeah. It's mostly for show, doesn't really do anything useful."

Penny frowned slightly. "Are these scenes all bogus?"

Leonard shrugged. "Most of the setups are kinda bogus."

"How 'bout the techno mumbo-jumbo?"

"Actually, most of that makes sense and are based on sound scientific principles."

She smiled. "In that case you better help me pronounce it all correctly."

Leonard nodded and smiled back at her. "Sure, that is what I'm here for. But I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Thanks," she said, looking a little shy. "So, uhm, when would you be available to go over the lines with me? I mean, we have a couple scenes we'll be rehearsing this afternoon, but for tomorrow's scenes I think I really am gonna need your help. So, uhm, I was hoping you wouldn't mind to, you know, help me after?"

"Uhm, yeah, sure. No problem."

She smiled brightly. "Great, then it's a date. I'll come to your lab around five-ish?"

He simply nodded, not sure what to say.

She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Great! I have to get back to rehearse some scenes." She retrieved her phone, holding it up. "Thanks for the map. Bye, Leonard!"

He stared after her, even after she had walked out of his lab, his hand touching the cheek she had only moments ago kissed, a little smile on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

_Great acting, Penny_. She shook her head as she glanced at the phone's display to check where she needed to go. _You're lucky nobody else was around_. All she had wanted to do was see if she could find Leonard's lab based on the little map Andrea had provided for her; she knew she was notoriously bad at reading maps, but figured if she used it a couple of times, she'd know the way.

Of course she got lost and had to ask someone's direction. The first guy wasn't very helpful, not even saying a word, just gesturing back to where she came from and indicating left. She had gone back that way and taken the first corridor on the left, before asking another person. She'd ignored his leer as he provided directions and trying her hardest not to laugh at his speech impediment, even though in her head she kept thinking 'Elmer Fudd is giving me directions.'

When she finally arrived at Leonard's lab, she had paused briefly to tell herself to not do anything stupid, not let anyone see that she thought he was cute. All her preparations to act like she wasn't attracted to him went out the window the second he turned around at her simple greeting.

And then of course she'd been standing close to him while he installed the map app on her iPhone, which had caused her heart to beat a little faster. And then she'd leaned forward, pressing lightly against him, to mark his lab as a favorite location. She could've waited until he'd given back the phone, but the truth was, she wanted to be closer to him, being able to smell his aftershave.

But of course the worst thing she'd done was asking him to help her go over the lines tonight. What was she thinking? There was no need to go over the lines tonight, really. Tomorrow they would go over the lines and scene first, and Leonard could inform them then on the correct pronunciation. No, the only reason she'd wanted to go over the lines tonight was to be with him. _Stupid, Penny. Really stupid_. At least now she knew for sure; she'd fallen for the scientist.

* * *

"Because I was asked to help her," Leonard said, annoyed at Sheldon's insistence he had to be taken home and the man's inability to understand the universe did not revolve around him. "Why can't you just take the bus home?"

"Because I'm not wearing my bus pants," Sheldon replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Bus pants?"

Leonard turned to the door, a smile instantly forming. "Hi, Penny. This is my roommate, Dr. Sheldon Cooper, Sheldon this is Penny."

"Oh, I don't shake hands."

Leonard rolled his eyes and gave a small shrug at Penny's questioning gaze. "He has a germ phobia."

"And bus pants are pants one wears when one has to take the bus," Sheldon answered Penny's earlier question. He then turned to Leonard. "And as I am not wearing them, taking the bus is not an option. You will have to take me home, Leonard."

"Why don't you take Leonard's car? I can drive him home tonight when we're done."

"Sheldon can't drive," Leonard replied, trying to ignore the slight increase in his heartbeat at her casual remark to drive him home later. What the hell was he thinking? She was engaged, completely off limits.

"Excuse me, I'm perfectly capable of driving a car. I simply choose not to."

Leonard sighed. "You don't even have a driver's license, so legally you can't drive. And I'm not gonna drive back and forth."

"Maybe I could dri-hiii."

Leonard turned to the door to his lab again. "Oh, hey Raj. Penny this is Raj, Raj this is Penny. You'll have to excuse him, Penny. He has social anxiety and can't talk to women, unless he's related to them."

"Oh, we met earlier," Penny said. "When I got lost, I asked him for directions."

Leonard grinned. "I can imagine that went well."

Penny shrugged. "He pointed me in the right direction, though I have to admit I would've appreciated him telling me exactly where to go, because the next guy I asked was kinda creepy."

Leonard assumed she was referring to Howard, who could be really creepy. "So," Leonard turned to Sheldon, trying not to think about what he'd like to do to Howard for creeping Penny out, "you can catch a ride with Raj, and I'll be home later tonight. Is that acceptable to you?"

Sheldon sighed. "I suppose that's an acceptable compromise."

Leonard frowned as Raj whispered in his ear that he'd need to use Leonard's car, as he had car-pooled with Howard this morning, but Howard had taken off early afternoon. "Then why did you offer to drive Sheldon?" Raj replied that he didn't think taking the bus was something Leonard would mind. Leonard nodded in agreement. "No, you're right, I can take the bus. Let me get the keys." He retrieved them from his pocket and handed them to Raj.

* * *

Penny looked around the cafeteria, empty save the lone employee currently using Leonard's staff pass to pay for the small meal they were having.

"I'll be in the back if you need anything else," the middle aged woman told Leonard, pointing to what Penny assumed to be either the main kitchen or the storage area.

"Thanks, Edna. I think we're good. We'll try not to take too much time."

The woman smiled with a small shrug. "I'm probably going to need an hour at least, so no rush."

Together with Leonard, Penny walked to a nearby table and sat down. They quietly ate their meals, every now and then laughing at whatever story was being told. She felt so at ease with him, more so than she ever had with anyone else, and it was so easy to talk to him.

So far, they hadn't really focused on her lines yet. Leonard had asked if he could work for a little bit on the project he was working on before he was asked to help out with the movie. Penny had just watched him go over the, to her at least, most insane equations in the world. He'd explained his work a bit, which is how she found out his work was mostly in the field of lasers and photon research.

She had just quietly watched him, listening to him talking with confidence and excitement about the experiment he was currently working on. It was a huge difference compared to his nervous behavior and occasional stammering during their earlier conversation, and even this conversation now.

She kept ignoring the little voice in her head, screaming at her to stop focusing on him, and to just go over the lines like a professional, and then go home. She could spend some time with Leonard, without anyone knowing what was really going through her mind. _Oh yeah? Sheila knows. Andrea knows. And judging by the little wink earlier, Edna probably does as well_. Penny barely kept her exasperated sigh inside. She could trust Sheila and Andrea. That still left Edna, but Penny got the impression she wouldn't just tell anyone.

* * *

Leonard felt quite happy at the moment, finishing dinner with the beautiful and kind actress across from him. Even though she was back in her civvies, as she had jokingly referred to her current minimal amount of makeup and the simple shirt and shorts she was wearing, Penny was still the most beautiful woman in universe, as far as he was concerned.

And then it suddenly hit him; he was having a crush on her. No, not a crush. It already felt like something more. But she was engaged, probably to a tall and handsome man. The most he could hope for from her was friendship, but how long would that last? Once they were done with filming, they'd probably never see each other again. Oh god, what if she noticed he was having a thing for her? He looked up at her, when she cleared her throat.

"We should probably go."

_Real smart Leonard. Now she probably doesn't want anything to do with you._

"I mean, I haven't even read the scenes for tomorrow yet, since I usually do that just the night before, so it's fresh in my mind. And I know I have a lot of lines with a lot of difficult words you'll have to teach me."

"Oh, right. Sure, let me take our stuff and I'll let Edna know we're gone." Well, at least she didn't want to leave him, so perhaps she hadn't noticed how he felt towards her. He really was gonna have to pay attention to how he was behaving toward her, or even near her, especially once other people were around. He dumped the leftovers in the trash and placed the trays on the counter just as Edna walked back in.

"Oh, you kids are done?"

Leonard nodded. "Yeah, we still have stuff to work on."

The older woman held up a hand. "Wait here, you can take some desserts to go."

Before either one could say anything, Edna had walked through the door to the back, only to return seconds later with two plastic fruit-mix cups. "There you go," she said, handing the items to Leonard.

"How much," Leonard asked, fishing for his wallet in his pocket.

Edna held up her hands. "No, no, dear. That's alright. It's policy to throw away any leftover stock each day, even if items are not even close to being expired."

Leonard nodded and smiled. "Thanks Edna."

* * *

Penny's mind kept screaming at her to not do it, but her heart said to go for it. Of course, she wasn't sure she would be able to convince Leonard, but there was no harm in trying, was there? "Leonard, is it okay if I practice this scene with you? You just read Ron's lines. I really want to see which delivery works best."

He looked like a frightened puppy again for a brief second, before smiling. "Sure." He took the script she was holding out, immediately going over it quick to see what the scene was about exactly, despite the fact he had already helped her on several of her lines.

Once he signaled he was ready, she started with her first lines, going through the scene. Her heart rate was climbing as she neared the end of the scene, knowing that Leonard probably hadn't seen how it ended, as he hadn't turned to the next page yet, not even as he had looked the scene over.

This was it, the reason she wanted to practice this scene with him. She grabbed his shoulders to turn him toward her, just as the script indicated. "Ron, please be careful." She hugged him close and held on for a few seconds, probably longer than she was supposed to, but Penny didn't care. It just felt great to hug him and she was excited she could do this a few more times, all under the guise of determining the best delivery for this scene.

She released him. "Okay, let me try that again." To make sure Leonard wouldn't get too suspicious, she chose a more scared way to deliver her lines, again ending the scene with a hug, a little tighter to convey her fear.

She went over a few more options, each time ending with the hug, and each time Leonard seemed to get more and more into it, to the point where he would actually hug her back. "Ugh, I don't like the last part," Penny said, getting a little frustrated that she wouldn't be able to pull of more attempts. So, she did what she'd done on various movies before: improvise. "I don't think these characters would react this way, under these circumstances."

She paused, thinking about her options. Luckily her mind had stopped pointing out how wrong all of this really was; it didn't even attempt to stop her from going through with her next idea. "Let's try it again from just after our characters have their plan ready." At his nod, she started the scene again close the end, changing up a few lines. She again grabbed Leonard's shoulder to turn him toward her. "Ron, please be careful." Instead of hugging him, she kissed him. Sure, it was only a pretend kiss that only seemed real on camera, but her heart rate went up nonetheless.

* * *

Leonard was utterly confused. He had been surprised at first at the hug, not having read that part of the scene, but he had quickly gotten used to it, enjoying it. He had not expected her to kiss him. Well, not really kiss him, but it came damn close. What confused him the most was that she not only continued to end the scene with a kiss on subsequent tries, but had added hands caressing his body to the mix. She didn't seem to notice at all what it was doing to him, probably because she did this for a living and it didn't carry any emotion with it for her.

"I think that's how the scene should end. What do you think?"

He nodded, despite the fact he wished she wouldn't do that to her co-star, even if it meant nothing to either of them.

"Yeah," she nodded, "I'll suggest this to the director tomorrow." She hugged him again and he immediately hugged her back. "Thank you for your help, Leonard. I really appreciate you taking the time."

"Sure, no problem," Leonard said, releasing his hold on her. He then frowned and returned his arms around her when she didn't release him for another few seconds.

"Oh my gosh, I didn't realize how late it was," Penny exclaimed, one arm still wrapped lightly around him.

Leonard turned his face toward the clock to see it was already past ten pm. "Wow, I didn't realize either." He glanced around and noticed all his equipment was turned of. "Right, I better hurry or I'll miss the bus." He didn't want to tell her he had just missed the bus, causing her to feel guilty about it. He could wait the twenty something minutes at the bus stop.

"I can give you ride."

Leonard shook his head as he grabbed his stuff together. "No, it's probably out of your way. I don't mind taking the bus."

"No, no, it's my fault you're even out here so late. I really don't mind."

Leonard wanted to politely decline her offer again, but he couldn't. Her driving him home would mean he'd get to spend some extra time with her. "Okay, if it's really not too much trouble."

"Of course not. Besides, you have to ignore your own work to put up with me. The least I can do is take the extra few minutes needed to drive you home."

How could she possibly think he felt their time together was a burden, that he had to put up with her? He knew better than to voice the thought, afraid she wouldn't want to work with him anymore. And he wasn't afraid because he'd be in a lot of trouble with the university, because bad as that might be, not working with her would be infinitely worse. So, instead he just smiled and motioned out the door. "Alright, let's get going then."

* * *

Again, the voice in Penny's head had started telling her she should tone things down, be more careful. It had started during the second or third try with her kissing Leonard, her lips ever choosing a spot closer to his, and her hands caressing pretty much every part of his back. And then there had been that hug she had given; it had been inappropriately long for a simple thank you, and Leonard had noticed. She had felt how he had released her, then continuing the hug when she didn't release him. She just couldn't help it; the closeness during the scenes had been wonderful, and she had needed more of it, however wrong it was.

And now the voice was telling her to just let Leonard take the bus, not to take the risk of any paparazzi seeing Leonard in her car. But how could she do that now, after already telling him it was no problem? Besides, she didn't want to let him take the bus.

"If you're worried about photographers, I know an alternative exit. There's nobody sitting at that gate because, well, it's never really used. But I know it still works, so using my pass we can leave without being seen."

She frowned at him. "Are you a mind reader as well?" God, she hoped not. She then smiled at him. "Thanks, that would be helpful." She looked back in shock, hoping he didn't think she was ashamed of him. "I mean, it's not that I mind being seen with you, it's just, well, I'm used to all this stuff, but I'm not sure you're waiting to be on the front cover of every tabloid in the States." She felt herself blush and was glad there wasn't much light on on the parking lot.

He just chuckled. "No, I'm not looking forward to be in the tabloids, which is really why I suggested it in the first place. And no, I don't read minds."

She grinned at him as they reached her car. "Good. A girl's gotta have her secrets." Especially the secret she was carrying right now. She got in her car and pressed the start button, grinning again as she noticed the look on his face as he got in beside her.

"Wow, look at the closeted nerd girl."

She shifted the car into gear. "Oops, guess the secret's out now. Okay, where to go to, Sweetie?"

He gestured to her left. "Just go left, and then turn left again, between the buildings. Keeps us out of sight for the most part, but I gotta warn you. That road hasn't been used in years and I really have no idea in what shape it is."

She nodded and confidently turned left between the buildings, following his directions until they reached a gated exit, the small office next to it was deserted and partially overgrown.

"Here, hold this against the scanner until the gate opens."

She accepted his pass with a nod, and held it against the little pole right next to the small office. The gate almost immediately began to slide open, loudly protesting being awoken from its dormant state. Penny handed him his pass back, and waited until the gate had opened up wide enough for her to drive through.

"Go right and then left again," Leonard instructed as she drove through the gate. "We're taking a little detour, but that way we avoid the main gate all together."

Penny drove somewhat slower than she usually did, staying under the speed limit, just to prolong the time she could spend with him, even though she realized the speed difference wasn't going to add up to all that much additional time, especially at this time of day when traffic was light. They just talked some more about their past, Leonard every now and then telling her to turn left or right.

"Alright, you can pull up here, that's the building I live in."

Penny nodded and stopped at the curb next to a building. She assumed the entrance was on the other street, as she didn't see any on this side. She looked up and asked, "which apartment is yours?"

"4A, which would be… that one over there."

She followed the direction of his finger, looking at the window as if she could see inside.

He cleared his throat. "So, uhm, thanks for the lift."

She turned to him, smiling brightly. "Sure, no problem." She released her seat belt and leaned over the center console, giving him another hug, this time releasing him after the appropriate amount of time. "Goodnight, Leonard."

He smiled back at her. "Yeah, you too. See you tomorrow."

She nodded, and smiled as he closed the door behind him, and then frowned as he reopened the car door.

"Uhm, do you… uhm, do you know how to get to your place?"

She smiled again and nodded. "Yeah. I actually lived close by this place until about two years ago. I only moved away after I got my second movie role. But thanks for asking."

He smiled back at her. "Sure, no problem. Alright, see you tomorrow, Penny."

She kept watching him as he walked to the side street, confirming her suspicion the entrance was on that street. She didn't turn back to face the steering wheel until he was out of sight, her eyes passing the rear view mirror, allowing her to see her goofy grin. She frowned as she grabbed her seat belt. _Get a grip, girl. Nobody is supposed to know_. She glanced in her side view mirror, before pulling out into the street, the smile returning. _He sure is cute, though_.


	3. Chapter 3

_Why are you doing this to yourself?_ That was the question that kept running through his mind, all from the moment earlier in the cafeteria when he realized he had feelings for Penny. And it popped in his brain again as he initiated the search on his phone. He knew he would find information on her fiance, see for himself she was engaged to a tall handsome guy.

Sure enough, the first picture showed her with a tall handsome guy, the caption informing his this was at a red carpet event a few months ago. He ignored the pictures depicting her with anyone else, just looking at the ones that only had her in it. After only a few minutes he gave up, realizing pictures just didn't do justice to the amazing person she was.

With a loud exhale of breath, he put his phone on his nightstand, hooking it up to the charger. He put his glasses next to the phone, switched off the light and lay back. He could feel the smile on his lips as he replayed the rehearsal session in his mind. He had a clear memory of the feeling of her lips just below his, her body pressed against him, her hands moving all over his back. He didn't care it was all pretend, that it didn't mean anything to her, to him it all had felt very real. He kept reliving those moments until he fell asleep, the smile never really leaving his lips.

* * *

Penny stepped into bed, sighing as the last words of her agent's message played. Penny knew she was just looking out for her, as was her assistant, but it bothered her they felt the need to leave messages. She knew she'd have to be careful, but she was confident she could do that. _Based on what?_ She really started to dislike the little voice in her head, even though she had to admit it was making a valid point. Afterall, so far there had been no evidence of her being able to hide her true feelings for Leonard.

A smile formed at the thought of Leonard and the few hours they had spent together, rehearsing her scene. She had been so close to kiss him for real, and she counted it a victory she hadn't. Hah, she could be careful and hide her feelings. _Sure, not kissing him is the same as hiding your feelings. Remember the really long hug you gave afterwards?_ "Shut up," she mumbled, then giggled when she realized she was now actually answering the voice in her head.

But, yeah, that hug was a mistake. Even Leonard had sensed something was off, but seemed otherwise oblivious to what was really going on. She knew from his stories he didn't date often and girls would never come on to him. Perhaps there had been a couple of them, but Leonard just hadn't picked up on it? If he didn't pick up on her obvious flirts, there was a good chance that was the actual problem. But at least that meant no other girl had snatched him up, leaving him available for her. _But you're not available to him._ Penny sighed, wishing the voice in her head would just shut up. She switched off the light and tried to sleep, her mind automatically returning to the last few hours, a smile on her lips.

* * *

"I think Leonard can do that with his front-projected holographic display," Penny said, grabbing her phone to send Leonard a text message and ask him if that would be possible. "It has laser-based finger tracking, so he can manipulate the holograph in real time." When she looked up, both the director and her co-star were staring at her. "What? He showed me a few nights ago when he helped me go over my lines."

She had been with Leonard at the university pretty much every night for the past week, though she had been careful not to be quite as bad as she'd been that first night. Belatedly she realized she'd just told the director and her co-star she'd been spending extra time with Leonard, when nobody was supposed to know about that.

The director was the first to break the silence. "That explains why you always nailed your lines on the first take. Well, maybe we should see how real it looks. If we can use it, that would be great, otherwise we'll get post to edit it in."

Penny nodded, relieved they didn't seem to think anything of it. That was close. She hadn't expected to be nearly giving herself away on this Saturday afternoon, with Leonard not even close by, despite the three of them sitting in the university's cafeteria. The truth was that she was now always thinking of him, night and day. She looked back at her phone when a message arrived. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw it was Leonard. "He says it shouldn't be a problem." She looked at the phone again when another message came. "If we want to check it out, he's in his lab right now."

"Might be a good idea," the director replied.

Penny stood up. "Great. I'll let him know we're on the way." She walked out of the cafeteria while typing her reply to Leonard, and made her way towards his lab, the director and her co-star following. She was looking forward to see him again, instead of having to wait until Monday. On auto pilot she walked toward his lab, already feeling butterflies in anticipation of seeing him today.

"Isn't the lab that way," Roger, he co-star, asked, pointing to the left corridor.

Penny nodded. "Yeah, but Leonard's actual lab is down here," she said, pointing down the corridor they just entered. She continued on, until they reached Leonard's lab. She knocked on the doorframe. "Hey, Sweetie."

"Hey, Penny," Leonard replied, turning back to his workbench almost immediately. "I'll need another minute or so to set things up."

"Sure, no problem." Her eyes fixated on his cute tushy as he bent over slightly across his workbench, a soft smile on her lips.

"I like his ass, too, but I thought you were a better actress than this," Roger whispered in her ear.

Penny turned around, ready to deny anything was going on but she knew she was blushing too much to effectively do so.

"You really need to work on that, before the wrong people notice."

* * *

Leonard felt relieved that the director and Penny's co-star understood his explanation of the principles involved. It might influence the way they would have to shoot the scene, and the director asked him to explain it to the camera operator next Monday before they'd shoot the scene.

"Can you project the stuff we'd need," the director then asked.

Leonard nodded. "Yeah. I'll have to ask my friend Howard Wolowitz to create some of the objects' projection parameters, but I've seen him program complex objects in less than half an hour. But he won't be able to do that until Monday morning."

The director nodded. "That's fine. We could shoot the scene on Tuesday instead, since we have plenty of scenes that still need filming next week."

The next half hour was spent figuring out which objects were needed and how the initial holograph should look. He liked the director and Penny's co-star; they both treated him like a human being, and weren't making fun of him at every opportunity, like most of the rest of the crew and cast would do.

They left shortly afterwards, and Leonard went to his laptop to write Howard an email to explain to him what was needed. Leonard was sure Howard would be thrilled to do this for him, as it meant he could spent time on set with a valid reason. Not that Leonard was too happy about him being there; he hadn't forgotten how creeped out Penny had been that first day after she'd gotten lost and he'd given her directions.

Noticing the time, he began shutting down all the equipment. He walked around the lab to assure himself everything was safely turned off, turned off the light and walked out of his lab, nearly colliding with Penny. "Hi!"

"Hi! You're done for the weekend?"

He nodded as he locked the lab. "Yeah. It's been a long week." He turned back to her. "What are you still doing here?"

"I came to see you, making sure you wouldn't work all weekend."

He chuckled as he walked towards the exit. "I wasn't planning on that, no. I got a lot done this week, so I'm happy to go back home."

"Any plans?"

He shook his head. "No, just relaxing. Sheldon went to his family in Texas and won't be here for an entire week. You have no idea how relaxing that is." He frowned slightly. "That sounded kinda bad. It's not that I mind sharing an apartment with him. He's just a... a..."

"Whackadoodle?"

He grinned. "Yeah, I guess that's as good a description as anything. Do you have any plans?"

She shook her head. "No, just relaxing like you. Brad's movie is on overtime, and it looks like he'll be needed for another couple of days, at least."

He nodded, his good mood fading at the mention of her fiance. "Oh, that's too bad," he said in sympathy.

She shrugged. "It is what it is."

They exited the building and he walked to his car. "Do you want to use the alternate exit again?"

She shook her head. "No, there's no paparazzi today, as it wasn't a shooting day and we weren't even supposed to be here."

He nodded. "Okay. I guess I'll see you Monday then? Have good weekend."

* * *

 _This is wrong on so many levels._ Penny ignored the voice, as she'd done numerous times before, and climbed the stairs, trying to think of a good excuse. _You wouldn't need an excuse if you'd just turn around and go home._ "I'm not turning around," she mumbled. _You did half an hour ago._ The voice was right, of course; she had been almost home when she decided to go to Leonard. Her time with him today had been too short, and other people had been around. It just didn't feel the same.

By the time she arrived at apartment 4A, she'd decided on her excuse; she was going to treat him to a nice dinner, to thank him for his help this week. Nodding to herself in satisfaction, she knocked on the door and waited. When the door opened to reveal Leonard wearing just a robe, however, she had trouble thinking straight.

"Penny? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, uhm, I, uh, I wanted to, uh, offer you a nice dinner. You know, to thank you for your help this week."

"Dinner? Uhm, aren't you worried about, uhm, people recognising you? What would the tabloids say when they you with some guy having dinner?"

Penny had finally managed to focus on something else then Leonard in just a robe. "I didn't mean take you out to dinner. I know this nice Italian restaurant close by that would be happy to deliver."

"Oh, okay. That sounds nice, thank you."

She smiled and entered the apartment when he invited her inside.

"I just got out of the shower when I heard you knocking. I'll go get dressed."

"Sure, no problem." She sat down on the couch, thankful Leonard wasn't looking in her direction right now. His mention of just getting out of the shower had increased her heart rate and made her blush. _See, this is wrong._ Ignoring the voice she looked around the apartment.

Considering it was occupied by two straight men, it was surprisingly neat and tidy, though that was probably primarily Dr. Cooper's influence. She noticed the array of game consoles, vast amounts of games, large entertainment set and the two desks with what seemed to be very nice laptops. Not surprising, considering Leonard's interests; she assumed those interests were shared by Dr. Cooper, and possibly their friends. She turned toward Leonard when he walked back out, dressed in a shirt and jeans.

"Do you want something to drink?"

"Just water, please." She needed a clear head, especially now that Leonard bend over to pick up a piece of paper that had fallen off of the coffee table as he passed by. Asking for wine or beer didn't seem like a good idea. _All this could've been avoided if you hadn't come here in the first place._

* * *

Leonard opened his closet. "I think I have some button-up shirts in here," he said, quickly moving his Star Trek uniforms out of view, before she'd take notice.

"They still make corduroy?"

Penny's arm reached past him to take hold of the item she had spotted. As her arm came completely in view, Leonard immediately realized she had already taken of her shirt, on which she had spilled some of her pasta. It didn't help that she was leaning against him to even be able to get the item, and the realization that she was standing there in just a bra was causing his body to react. "Oh, uhm, no. Uhm. That's why I saved it."

"Why?" She hadn't moved away, just turning the suit left and right while still leaning against him.

He cleared his throat. "Because they don't make them anymore."

"Sweetie, that's a good indication of how uncool it has become." She hung it back and then stepped away from him.

Leonard quickly located a button-up shirt. "Here's one," he said, holding out for her.

"Thanks," she said. "Ugh, I better wash up first. Some of that sauce got on me."

With Herculean effort Leonard kept himself from glancing behind him. "Oh, uh, the bathroom is just down the hall. You'll find towels in the closet below the sink. You want me to put your shirt in with my stuff? I can just run down and start a load."

"Oh, if it's not too much trouble?"

"Of course not. I'll just gather my laundry and run down quick." He waited for her to walk out of his room before grabbing his laundry and drop her shirt on top of it. He walked down the hallway, when Penny suddenly stepped out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a bra and her panties.

"Oh, good you're still here. Some of the sauce got on my shorts as well." She dropped the shorts in his laundry basket. "Thanks Leonard."

"S-sure," he stammered, even though she had already stepped back into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. What the hell was going on here? Was she really unaware of the effect she was having on him by standing in front of him in her underwear? That must be it, because the only other reason he could think of was that she was trying to seduce him. That couldn't be it, though, because she was engaged to be married.

Realizing that standing there, staring at the closed bathroom door wasn't going to provide any answers, not to mention that it would make him look like an idiot should she come out of the bathroom, he walked away to go downstairs to the laundry room.

* * *

Penny was surprised the voice in her head was keeping quiet. She smiled when she finally heard him walk away and the closing of the apartment door a few seconds later. She quickly washed the couple of spots of sauce from her skin, dried herself and put on the button up shirt he'd loaned her, deciding to not bother putting the bra back on.

She knew she was taking it too far, but she didn't want to quit now, not after the teasing she'd done already. Spilling her pasta had been an accident, but pushing herself against him without her shirt on hadn't. It was a deliberate action, her need for him getting too strong to withstand.

And then stepping out in front of him, after having removed her shorts, had been the next step, knowing that Leonard hadn't even tried to look at her before. She definitely had made an impression that time; he hadn't even noticed her shorts were perfectly clean. Penny's mind was now made up: she was going to spend the night here, with him.

She walked back to the living room, deciding to clean up the remnants of their dinner. She then moved back to clean the coffee table, which had received some of the pasta she had spilled. She glanced up when she heard the door open and smiled at Leonard.

"Oh, no, you don't have to do that."

"Don't be silly. Since you're doing my laundry, the least I can do is clean up the mess I caused." She hid her smile, having seen the look on his face. She'd left the top half of his shirt open and he had undoubtedly noticed she wasn't wearing her bra. Once she was finished, having dropped the waste in the trash, she walked back to the couch and sat down next to him.

"You wanna watch something on TV?"

* * *

Leonard didn't know what to do. The past three hours had been both hard and amazing. Penny had snuggled up to him, pressing herself tightly against him. She had let go twice, once when he had to move the laundry from the washer to the dryer, and again when he had retrieved the dried laundry. She hadn't seemed to be in a hurry to put her clean shirt and shorts back on, though. Instead she had snuggled up to him again.

But he was utterly shocked when she had kissed him. Not a make-believe movie kiss like she had done earlier that week. No, an actual real kiss, on the lips. And she had deepened the kiss, her tongue seeking entrance. He knew it was wrong, but he parted his lips anyway, her tongue immediately darting inside to meet his.

No, this had to stop. She was engaged, they shouldn't be doing this. Reluctantly he pulled back, breaking the kiss. "Penny, we can't do this. You're... you're engaged." He watched her as her mind seemed to catch up to what she was doing.

"Leonard, promise me you will never tell anyone..."

"Of course I won't," he said. "I'm sure that even if I hadn't stopped it, you would have. Regardless, I won't tell anyone."

She smiled at him. "Thanks, but I wouldn't have ended it." She sighed. "Brad and I, our relationship is just for show, to help his career. There's no love there. Well, at least not from my side. I just went along with it because my agent said it would be good for my career if I was in a relationship."

Leonard was stunned, his mouth hanging open.

"Everything was just fine, not great, but fine, until I met you."

"So, you... you're going to break off the fake engagement?"

She sighed again. "I wish it was that simple. There's a clause in the contract that says that if I were to end the relationship, it would cost me every last penny I earned, not too mention my career would be virtually over." She looked at him. "But I'd do it, for you."

"Penny, I can't let you do that! You worked hard to get where you are now. Don't give that up."

"But what about us? Leonard, I... I love you."

Again, Leonard was stunned, but this time managed to close his mouth. "Penny, I don't see how we could make this work. People would find out and you'd be in a lot of trouble. I'm sorry, but I don't think we can do this."

* * *

Penny started to smile only seconds after waking up. It had taken her quite some time to persuade him to just have this night together, telling him that nobody really even knew she was with him. She was glad she had managed to convince him; it had been a few years since she had had sex with someone else, but last night had been the best she ever had.

And now she had awoken with his arm draped lightly across her, resting comfortably in the curve of her hip. She hoped she could convince him to extend their agreement from last night, so that they could spend the rest of the day in his bed.

She carefully turned around, not wanting to wake him up, but feeling the need to watch him while he slept. She placed her hand on his forearm, now resting comfortably on her abdomen and stared at his face. After a while her eyes moved further down over the part of his body not covered by the sheets, seeing the evidence on his chest of what her mouth had been doing there only a few hours ago.

She reached out with her hand to caress his chest, making an extra circle around the mark she had left. She heard her phone vibrate, indicating someone was calling. She sighed, turned around and grabbed her phone, noticing it was her agent. "Hi Sheila." She frowned. "What do you mean, where have you been?"

She turned to look at Leonard who had been awoken by the phone call. She gave him a soft smile. "No, I haven't been on the internet since yesterday afternoon." She rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll go read it now."

"Something wrong," Leonard asked after she had hung up.

Penny shrugged. "I don't know. Sheila told me to read the article she emailed me." She opened up her email, seeing a number of emails from friends and family. In the midst of them she found the email Sheila had sent. She opened the message and clicked on the link. Her eyes went wide in shock as she skimmed the contents. "Holy crap on a cracker!"


	4. Chapter 4

" _I_ didn't even know," Penny exclaimed, frustrated that she even needed to defend herself at all.

Sheila sighed. "I'm sorry, Penny. I guess I knew you weren't involved in this. It's just weird that everything came out all of a sudden. Maybe Dr. Hofstadter..."

"No, Leonard didn't even find out about it until last night. He didn't have any time to get find this information _and_ get it to the right people." She blushed at the knowing grin from her agent. "Shut up." She took a moment to compose herself again. "Did you know?"

Sheila shook her head. "No, I really had no idea there were two different contracts." She placed her hand on top of Penny's. "At least it's all over now. The contract became void when the article was published."

"Yeah." Penny smiled, her mind automatically going to Leonard and the fact she wouldn't have to hide her feelings for him from everybody. Assuming there was anybody left who didn't already know. "I wonder how they got all that information, though."

"Honey, don't question it. Just accept that you're now officially a free woman."

Penny's smile turned even bigger. "I guess I should." She stood up and hugged her agent. "Thank you, Sheila. For calling me this morning."

"That's alright, Honey. I've felt bad ever since I found out I missed that stupid clause in the contract, so I'm just happy it all got resolved. Now, shoo. I think you have a scientist waiting for you to get back."

Penny smiled again. "And I can't wait to be back with him. Thanks again, Sheila."

* * *

Leonard found himself once again reliving the events of last night, a big smile on his face. Even in his wildest dreams - and he had had a few this past week, he admitted - he would've never imagined the night turning out quite the way it had. And it wasn't just the sex, which had been absolutely amazing; no, the talking they'd done before, the simply being together, the cuddling afterwards, they had each played a part in making it the best experience of his life.

He had been a little apprehensive at first; even though he had some experience with women, he wasn't all that confident he would be satisfying to her. She had told him she hadn't slept with anyone in three years, but from her stories he had inferred she did have a lot more experience than him, and apparently most of her exes were athletic, and not asthmatic like him.

But he seemed to have worried for nothing; the first time he wasn't sure if she hadn't faked it, just so she wouldn't hurt his feelings, but that wouldn't explain why she had initiated the second or third time, nor the satisfied smile he'd seen on her face after each of her _loud_ climaxes.

He came back to the present and looked at the folded papers, deciding to reread them and make sure his gratitude came through as clear as he wanted it to. He'd barely read the first paragraph before he was interrupted by a knock on the door. He folded the letter and went to the door.

"Hey, you," Penny said, stepping inside.

"Hi," Leonard replied, closing the door behind him. Moments later Penny was pressing him against the door, kissing him passionately, an activity he had no objection to, and he reciprocated the kiss with equal passion.

"I missed you," Penny said after they came up for air.

"I missed you, too," he said, leading her toward the couch and then sat down next to her. "So, what's going on?"

Penny shrugged. "Sheila's not really sure. Apparently someone hacked into Brad's agent's computer systems, found the contract and then found the other stuff. Can you believe she thought you or I were behind this?"

"What? I wouldn't do something like that!"

"I know you wouldn't, Sweetie. Besides, you didn't even have time to do that," she added, winking at him.

Leonard grinned. "No, I guess you kept me quite busy since you told me." He decided to kiss her then, just because he wanted to and actually could. "What will happen now?"

Penny rolled her eyes. "Tons of interviews, no doubt. But the good thing is we won't have to hide our feelings anymore. Not that I was doing a good job at it anyway."

Leonard frowned, not understanding how she could think she didn't hide it. "Yes you did. I never noticed a thing."

Penny patted his leg, smiling at him. "I think you were the only one, Sweetie. But if it makes you feel better, I didn't realize I had feelings for you at first either, until Andrea confronted me. I decided then that I had to be careful and hide my feelings for you, but I never was able to."

* * *

"Wow, you really are a genius," Penny commented, still panting from their recent activity. They were laying close together, both his hands holding both of hers, a closeness she couldn't remember ever experiencing. No, most guys she had slept with had never felt the need to cuddle afterwards, or even stay awake any longer than a minute or so. Not Leonard, though; he'd proven last night that he cared for her by not only staying awake, but holding her and talk with her. If only she could've met him before this whole Brad thing happened.

Her phone buzzed again on the nightstand next to her. It had done that a few times in the last, well however long they'd been busy, so either it was important, or there were a few people trying to reach her. She knew she couldn't keep ignoring it and sighed. "I probably should get that." Leonard released her left hand, and she reached over to grab her phone, immediately returning back to lay close to him. _Great, it's Brad._

"You can't avoid him forever," Leonard said, apparently having seen the name on her phone's display.

"I know," she replied with another sigh, before swiping the green button to the side. "What do you want," she asked, not feeling like being civil to him anymore, not after what she had learned today. "I don't owe you any explanation whatsoever, and you don't get to ask me where I am anymore," she cut off whatever else he was about to say or ask.

She turned to look at Leonard, rolling her eyes as Brad kept on going on about her ruining his career. "It looks like you were out to ruin not only my career, but my life," Penny finally was able to cut in again. She surprised herself by staying calm. She rolled her eyes again. "Did you even read the article?"

She exhaled loudly when he indicated he hadn't, his agent had called him to say the jig was up. "Then why the hell do you call me and start accusing me? You and your agent came up with this idea for the sole purpose of making me look bad and ruin me one way or the other. I couldn't get out of the contract, because that would ruin me, but now it turns out you had even more stuff planned to ruin my career and my life, hadn't you?"

Penny frowned at Brad's confused questions. "Why would I want to be in a relationship with you? I thought I'd made it clear from the get go that I didn't even want you near me unless we were in public? Or have you forgotten the difficulty and pain just turning your body around gave you?" Her frown deepened. "Are you serious? Or are you just trying to get into good graces with me in hopes that I'll get this all magically fixed? Because I can tell you right now that even if I could, I wouldn't."

Penny sat up straight, her confusion growing. "No, I'm telling you, the contract was your idea, not mine. My agent got a call from yours." She listened intently, trying to gauge the sincerity in Brad's voice. "That's not what it says in the contract my agent and I signed, nor the one your agent had shown my agent initially," Penny asserted. She listened again and nodded. "Alright, I'll forward that to my agent."

"What was that about?"

Penny turned back to Leonard, laying down on her side so she could face him. "Brad claims that his agent told him that I wanted a publicity relationship with him. His contract is different from mine, and he swears he did not know about all that other stuff." She glanced at her phone when an email arrived. She saw it was Brad's and opened the attached contract. After only a few seconds she forwarded the mail to Sheila. "Seems like he's right about having a completely different contract." She quickly typed a short message and hit send.

Penny placed her phone back on the nightstand, setting it to 'do not disturb' mode; whoever felt like contacting her, could wait until tomorrow. She turned back to Leonard, wiggling her body to move closer to him. "No more interruptions," she said. "I just want to spend the rest of the day with you in this bed."

* * *

Leonard held his pass against the old gate's scanning pole.

"Thanks for agreeing to take me this way," Penny said, sitting beside him.

He turned to her, waiting for the gate to open far enough for him to drive through. "Of course I'd give my _girlfriend_ a ride to work." His smile grew when he realized he had a girlfriend now.

She smiled back at him. "Yeah, well considering the fact that every reporter is after me to get a response, I would've totally understood if you had said no."

Leonard drove toward the parking lot closest to the building right next to the one they had to be in, anticipating a lot of people waiting for her at the entrance. They'd already figured out Penny hadn't used the main entrance to leave the campus the past week, and they'd probably anticipate her trying to enter today without being seen.

"Why are you parking so far away from the building?"

"We'll go into this one, and use the underground basement to get to our building," Leonard explained.

She smiled broadly. "You really are a genius."

Leonard grinned back at her. "So you've told me yesterday. A couple of times." He got out of the car and locked it behind him when Penny had stepped out. They could hear the commotion up ahead, and Leonard was glad he had chosen this way of getting them inside.

"Leonard? I know you're not particularly fond of being the center of attention, and I will try my best to keep you out of the publicity, but at some point they're gonna figure out we're in a relationship. And then all the gossip will start, making you look bad and, oh, will that be a problem with your work? Will it hurt your credibility, when the tabloids are writing all that bad stuff?"

Leonard placed his arm around her, halting their progress toward the basement as he turned her toward him to give her kiss. "Penny, relax. I'm well aware we won't be hiding this relationship from the public very long, and I do understand that most of the stuff they'd write would be lies to improve sales. But I don't think it'll hurt my credibility. There aren't many scientists into stuff like that, you know?"

"It'll only take one to point it out to all your peers."

Leonard shrugged, resuming their course. "Even so, my reputation as a scientist is not likely to be influenced by some gossip in a tabloid." He motioned toward the basement door. "This is how we'll get to the other building."

* * *

Penny walked next to Leonard, her hand held in his. She was a little worried, not sure if Leonard understood how bad the gossip might get, or just how big a part of their lives it might become. She didn't want to lose him, but she didn't want him to be unhappy because of all the attention, or resent her later for turning his life upside down.

He might be right about the gossip not influencing his credibility as a scientists, but it was going to influence him at a personal level, she knew. It influenced her, though she had learned to not pay too much attention to the tabloids and rumors that were always being spread around; if something important was being said that might be addressed in interviews, her agent would inform her ahead of time, so she could prepare her response. She needed to teach Leonard that, to ignore it until someone he trusted would tell him about it.

It was a big relief when they eventually entered the building without any journalist or photographer seeing them. "I probably should go to wardrobe," she said with a small sigh as they arrived at Leonard's lab. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I love you," she said when the kiss ended, smiling at him as she looked into his eyes.

"I love you, too."

Penny's smile widened, seeing in his eyes the sincerity behind his declaration. She kissed him again, briefly this time, and then released him. "I'll see you in about an hour. Bye, Leonard." She turned around and made her way toward wardrobe, a content smile on her lips. Spending the weekend with Leonard had been amazingly wonderful. She felt so at ease around him, even more than when she was at home by herself. She never experienced something like that.

She felt her phone vibrate and fished it out of her pocket, noticing it was Andrea. She answered the call. "Morning Andrea," she said brightly. She frowned slightly, trying to hear her assistant over the commotion that apparently surrounded the poor girl. "I'm almost at wardrobe," she replied. She tried to focus on Andrea's voice and grinned slightly at the curse word. "Sorry, Leonard drove me and we entered through the building next to this one." The sounds coming through their phone were suddenly muffled and she could hear Andrea properly now. "I didn't expect they'd give you trouble. I'll see you in a bit."

* * *

Leonard looked up at the knock on the door frame and saw Howard entering his lab. "Hey Howard."

"Hey. I got your email from Saturday. I think we can create the stuff they want."

Leonard frowned slightly. He hadn't talked to the engineer since his angry outburst a week ago, warning Leonard to stay away from Penny. He wasn't sure what he expected, but it definitely wasn't this. "Oh, yeah. Great. Uhm, are we going to talk about what happened last week?"

Howard shrugged. "Water under the bridge. We're cool."

Leonard stood up straighter. "Are we? I mean, I don't even get _why_ you got so upset."

Howard sighed. "Look, Leonard. I guess I was just jealous, you know? The two of you seemed to have hit it off, and it bugged me that not only she was in to you, but you were clearly in to her. And not in the creepy way I was."

Leonard grinned. "Yeah, she was in to me… Wait a minute! How could you've possible known she was in to me?"

"Oh, uh, well, from what you told me, it just seemed like she was."

Leonard's frown returned, much deeper this time. Howard wasn't one to fumble with words, unless he was trying to hide something. "I don't buy it. Even I didn't know she was into me. What gives?"

Howard sighed. "I may have overheard a conversation between Penny and her assistant before I came to you, in which her assistant told her to be careful and not get caught."

Leonard placed his hand back on the workbench. "Oh my god. It was you. You hacked into her fiance's agent's computer!"

"Will you keep it down," Howard hissed. "And you're welcome," he added with a grin. "I overheard her assistant tell her that her fiance had to get caught first, which sounded odd until I realized that maybe their relationship was just for show. And when I talked to you and realized you had fallen for her, I tried to warn you to stay away. I knew that didn't really work so I decided to see if I could figure it out. I took the rest of the day of, to see if I could find some more information. I had quite a trail to follow."

"Care to fill me in on it?"

Leonard looked toward the door and smiled as Penny walked in, already in her outfit for the movie. She walked over to him, wrapping her arms around him, giving him quick kiss, though Leonard doubted the make-up artist was going to be happy about that part.

"Okay. Well, I guess I should say that your fiance doesn't seem to be aware of the situation at all. In fact, he most likely assumes the fake relationship was for your benefit."

"He does," Penny answered. "So it's his agent that is trying to ruin me?"

Howard nodded. "That's what it looks like, but I'm not buying it. Not entirely, anyway. He knows the deal, but I'm not convinced it's his idea. There's no connection to you at all. Whatever it is and whoever is behind it, I'll find out, I promise. I figured I had enough info to leak it to the press and take the pressure off."

"Won't it make it harder for you to figure things out? Brad's agent already knows his systems were hacked," Leonard asked.

"This is not the first time I broke into a computer system. They won't be able to keep me out, unless they're willing to take their entire network completely offline. Besides, I already have an insane amount of data copied over, mostly contracts. The ones I've gone over all seem legit, though, so it appears your situation is a special case."

"Don't I feel special," Penny said sarcastically. "But really, thank you for doing this."

Howard shrugged, blushing slightly at the sudden hug. "That's alright."

"Penny," Leonard asked, "could be Brad's agent is just angry you turned down his services?"

Penny shook her head. "I don't see why. I'd never even heard of that agency until the whole Brad thing started."

"Yeah," Howard added, "I had already figured that wasn't the case. The agency doesn't really have any clients in the movie or theater business. Most of their clients can be found in wrestling and fight sports."

"No."

Leonard turned to Penny at her whisper, concern on his face as he noticed the expression on hers.

"He wouldn't."


	5. Chapter 5

"I'll do the research after I'm done with the stuff for your movie," Howard assured her.

Penny smiled and gave the engineer a hug. "Thank you. For what you've already done, and continue to do." When she released him she saw him blush.

"It's nothing," he replied.

Penny shook her head. "No, it's not nothing. It's a very big deal, and we both appreciate your help." She looked at Leonard. "Right, Honey?"

Leonard nodded. "Yeah, we do, Howard. You could've just let things be, ignore what you heard and prevent Penny and I to ever be together in a real relationship."

Penny smiled, pleased to hear he considered this a relationship, then her eyes fell on the clock at the wall. "Shoot, I need to get to set." She kissed him passionately on the lips. "Bye, Honey. I'll see you later." She placed her hand on Howards arm as she passed him. "Thanks again, Sweetie." She decided to give him a brief hug, then quickly made her way to the set outside.

Her phone vibrated and she took it out to see it was Andrea. "Hi, Sweetie, what's up?"

" _The sun, the clouds and, apparently your mood. Where the hell are you? No, let me guess, you're with Leonard._ "

Penny smiled, knowing Andrea was now simply teasing her, and not at all upset that she had spent time with him. "I was, but I'm almost on set."

" _Don't come out yet,_ " Andrea warned. " _Security is still trying to get the press away._ "

Penny paused, already close to the door that would lead to their exterior set. "Right, I'm at the door, so just let me know when it's safe."

" _I'd give it another minute or so. I'll call you when we're ready._ "

Penny disconnected the call and waited patiently for her assistant to call her. It was almost two minutes when Andrea opened the door just far enough for her to get through and then closing it behind her. Penny raised an eyebrow in confusion, and then the other when she noticed the anger in the woman's eyes. "What the hell happened?"

"One of the photographers managed to slip through security and got acquainted with my fist," Andrea replied in a matter of fact tone.

Penny started to grin, remembering Andrea's resume had mentioned boxing as a hobby. "You decked him, didn't ya?"

"Knocked him out cold," Andrea replied, nodding with satisfaction. "Anyway, plans are now changed. They're going to shoot some of the interior scenes today, but none of them have you in it."

Penny started to smile. "So I got the day off?"

Andrea nodded. "Looks like it. So, introduce me to your boyfriend."

Penny frowned but started to walk back to Leonard's lab. "But you already met him."

Andrea chuckled. "Yeah, but he was the guy that could ruin your career, so I did everything I could to make him feel uncomfortable or get him to get angry at me. My job was on the line as well, you know?"

Penny recognised the teasing tone on that last statement, but her frown deepened. She hadn't considered her employee's at all, even though they'd all have lost their jobs if this whole contract thing hadn't come out before the press had caught her with Leonard. "I never thought of that," she said to Andrea. "My choice would've impacted more lives than just Leonard's and mine."

"Relax, Penny, I was only teasing."

"I know that, but you don't understand. I had already decided to give up my career, just so I could be with Leonard. Technically, we were together _before_ this whole contract business came out."

Andrea stopped Penny from moving forward. "Penny, listen to me. None of your employees would've resented you for following your heart. You've been a great employer to all of us. Trust me, most of us have worked for other stars who were not nearly as kind as you."

* * *

Leonard focused on designing the protocol for the new theory he was to either prove or disprove. Howard had spent maybe two more minutes with him talking over the holographic scene he would program, and had then left to get started on that. He looked up at the knock at the door, surprised but pleased to see Penny.

"Hi Honey," she said, as she hugged him close. "Missed me?"

"Of course," Leonard replied, grinning at her. "You were gone for at least five minutes. Not that I'm complaining, but why are you back?"

"The press is surrounding the exterior set, trying to interview Penny."

Leonard looked up at Penny's assistant. She didn't like him, and the feeling had started to become mutual. His focus returned to Penny. "Are you okay?"

Penny nodded. "Yeah, Andrea warned me to stay inside until they got the press away. Two minutes later she came inside to tell me plans had changed. Turns out, all the scenes they're shooting today, won't involve me. So," she said, looking around the lab, "whatcha doing?"

Leonard gestured toward the whiteboard holding the theory's equations and a few additional equations he added. "Trying to design an experiment to see if this new theory would be right or not. Boring stuff, but it needs to be done. Well, technically I don't have to start until after your movie's done here, but since I finished the other one and I had some time, I figured I might as well get a head start."

"So, you don't mind me hanging around," Penny asked.

"Of course not," he assured her. "If you want, we could leave? Like I said, I don't really have to work on this until next week."

Penny smiled. "While I'd enjoy spending some alone time at your place, I think it's better we stay here. I mean, your friend is working on the hologram thingy and might have questions, and for all we know the director might change his mind again if the press finally gets away from set. Of course, that doesn't imply you'd actually get to do some work," she added with a smirk, before she closed the distance and kissed him passionately.

Leonard was thoroughly enjoying the kiss and was surprised to hear the clearing of throat. Penny glanced back at her assistant, who Leonard had completely forgotten was even there.

"Forgot I was here, didn't you?"

It was the first time Leonard had seen the woman smile, and she looked completely different, not at all like the unfriendly and bitter person he'd perceived her to be.

"Shut up," Penny said to her assistant, blushing slightly.

* * *

"Here it is, guys."

Penny looked at the engineer who had walked into Leonard's apartment where moments before she had been sitting on his lap, making out. Not that she had moved away from his lap, but she did break off the kiss. "Great timing," she said sarcastically.

He shrugged. "Maybe, but I think you're going to be glad I interrupted you."

Penny accepted the sheet of paper he held out and skimmed over the contents. "That petty son of a bitch! How sure are you about this," she asked him.

"A hundred percent. Came right of his own computer, which by the way was the easiest to hack into." He tilted his head slightly and looked at Leonard. "Really? Making out in Sheldon's spot?"

Penny turned to Leonard. "Sheldon?" Then she remembered. "Oh, right the whackadoodle. He has his own spot?"

Leonard chuckled. "Yeah, it's the perfect spot according to him because of the distances and angles. Don't ask him, because he'll give you the extended explanation."

Penny bit her lip and grinned down at him. "Getting a little dirty, are we Dr. Hofstadter? I seem to recall you suggested this spot."

He grinned back at her. "You have to admit it's a good spot to be in. Whatever the activities."

Penny grin turned into a smirk. "Oh, I know some activity we haven't done here, yet." She looked up when Howard cleared his throat, blushing and cursing herself for completely forgetting someone else was with them. Not for the first time that day, either.

"So, how do you want to proceed," Howard asked.

Penny frowned as she thought things over. "I don't know, really. I want him to pay, but I'm not sure on the how. Yet. Is it okay if I get back to you on that later?"

Howard shrugged. "Sure. But I wouldn't take too long. For all we know, he might already suspect something, considering the other intel that was leaked. And I'm sure you ex-fiance's manager will have notified him of the hack."

Penny snorted. "Yeah, but this guy," she said, holding up the piece of paper, "isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. But I'm sure I'm gonna figure something out soon, like tomorrow." She got off of Leonard's lap and gave Howard a tight hug. "Thank you so, so much."

* * *

Leonard had his left arm around Penny's shoulder as she had curled up against his side, her left hand tracing meaningless patterns on his chest. "Penny, can I ask you something? And you really don't have to answer if you don't want to, or if it's too personal, or, whatever."

"Relax, Leonard. Just ask the question, even though I think I know what the question is."

He saw her smile up at him, encouraging him to ask the question anyway. "Well, it's just... This guy seems..." He sighed. "Never mind."

"I met him when I was almost eighteen, still naive about guys and love. I always wanted to be an actress, and thought I'd have a much better chance here than in Nebraska. He wanted to be a wrestler and figured he'd have a much better chance here as well, so we decided to move here. Probably not the best idea, since we had only been together for a few months and when we moved here, we moved in together."

Leonard turned to her when she became quiet. "I know you split up after a few years, but was the relationship good?"

Penny chuckled slightly. "At the time I thought it was great, but it really wasn't. It took me a long time to realise I was just too scared to live on my own. Scared enough I chose to ignore certain things, continue the charade. You could say it was my first acting job."

Her arm was now resting across his abdomen, tightening slightly. "He cheated on me. I only caught him once, but that was enough incentive to leave him. I know he cheated on me numerous times. There'd been so many little things that indicated his infidelity, but I ignored them because I was too scared to try and make it on my own."

Leonard tightened his embrace.

"You know the worst part? I never really loved him. I mean, he was buff and all that, and I was physically attracted to him. But I never loved him, never trusted him. God, how pathetic and shallow was I?"

"No, don't say that," Leonard replied immediately. "Everyone would be scared to do what you did, all alone, knowing nobody. That doesn't make you pathetic."

Penny lifted herself up, propping her head up on her hand. "No? How about this? I ran into him a year later and invited him to a Halloween party I was throwing, because I thought he might have changed." She dropped back down, looking up at the ceiling. "Luckily he left with one of the other girls at the party."

"That still doesn't make you pathetic," Leonard said, now lifting himself up to look at her. "Besides, you didn't really try to get back with him, or he wouldn't have left with someone else. Even he couldn't be that stupid." Leonard grinned, trying to get her to smile.

A small smile started to form, just as he had hoped. "I guess. Ugh, I don't wanna talk about that stupid Neanderthal anymore. I think I'll ask Howard to expose this information and then we can put it all behind us." She turned her head toward her phone when it indicated a couple of messages arriving, one after the other. "Now what?"

Leonard released her so she could grab her phone and laid back down, waiting for Penny to read the messages.

"Unbelievable!" She held up her phone toward him, but without his glasses on Leonard couldn't see more than a blur. "He's saying I can always go back to him," Penny said, a little calmer than her initial response.

"Who? Brad?"

"No. Kurt! That idiot actually believes I'd be running back to him. Oh my God! I bet that's why he tried to destroy my career in the first place!"

* * *

"Leonard!"

Penny rushed over as soon as her new bodyguard had grabbed Kurt and moved him away. She had never wanted bodyguards, never really feeling the need for them, but today she was happy Andrea and Sheila had set her up with a security team. She fell down on her knees next to Leonard, shocked to see what Kurt had done to him.

"How can you possibly want him? I'm your man, I'm the one who can take care of you. You're nothing without me."

Penny glanced behind her, her eyes shooting daggers at Kurt. She stood up and took a step or two in his direction, folding her arms in front of her chest. "No, you know what I am without you? Much better off. It might have taken me a long time to realize it, but nothing has driven the point home as much as this. I know you set up this whole deal with the publicity relationship, the fake contracts, everything. And I'm going to make sure everybody knows, making your life a living hell. You're going to wish you'd never tried this."

He scoffed. "Right."

"You seem to have forgotten how long I've been independant. Or how successful I've become. Believe me, I can make your life extremely difficult. You know I have obtained some very damaging information during our time together." Penny didn't feel the need to elaborate, Kurt's demeanor changing rapidly.

"You can't prove anything."

Penny smiled and shrugged. "I don't have to. Once it's out, I'm sure there's going to be an investigation and if you think they won't find anything, you're an even bigger idiot than I thought you were. So, here's the deal. You're going to leave me and everyone around me alone. If anyone of my friends are hurt in anyway, I'm going to assume it was you and spill the beans. I want you out of my life, permanently. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal."

His reply had been barely audible, but it was enough for Penny. "Okay, get him out of here." She turned back around and sat down next to Leonard again, waiting for the paramedics which she knew were already on the way. "It's going to be okay, Leonard. I promise."

* * *

**One month later**

Penny smiled at the press as they snapped their pictures. In a few minutes the movie would be shown inside the theater with, beside members of the press, the entire cast, producers, director, and some of the writers and scientists present.

So far, nobody had realized Leonard and her had been dating, but tonight was the first time they would appear in public together, even though she wasn't going to actually see him until she was seated. If no one would make the connection, that would be fine, but Leonard and her had talked about it and they knew it would have to happen at some point.

Leonard. Thoughts of him would make her smile automatically. She wondered if the photographers realized her smile this time was genuine. The only other time they had snapped pictures of her genuine smile, was the first opening night. She gave a small wave as her assistant guided her toward the entrance to get her inside.

"Haven't seen that smile in public for a while," Andrea murmured as they stepped inside. "Thinking of Leonard again, I assume?"

Penny glanced at her. "You think they noticed?" She nodded back to the photographers outside.

"Hell, no," Andrea said. "I only notice because I know you well enough by now to distinguish a genuine smile from a press smile. How is Leonard, anyway? Last time I saw him that ex of yours had banged him up pretty hard."

Penny felt her anger rise at the reminder of what Kurt had done, but managed to contain it and push it away. "He's okay. Most of his bruises are all but invisible now."

"When is he moving in?"

"We haven't..." Penny's head whipped around to Andrea as she realized her assistant wasn't even supposed to know she had asked Leonard to move in with her. "What?"

"Aha! You weren't going to tell me until he lived there, were you?"

Penny shook her head. "I can't believe you just guessed I had asked him. Anyway, he said yes, but we haven't decided on which date yet. On the one hand we want to move in together as quickly as possible, on the other hand it's kinda nice we can be together without anyone knowing. Ugh, why is this so complicated?"

"It doesn't have to be," Andrea replied. "I'm assuming Leonard understands that moving in with you will result in the whole world knowing? Apparently he has accepted that, as have you. Why not just come out and let everyone know the two of you are in a relationship? Which, by the way, might come out today anyway, considering the fact the two of you can never keep your hands off of each other whenever you're together."

Penny giggled, remembering how Andrea had caught them several times. "I guess." They arrived at the row reserved for the cast and Penny lit up when she noticed Leonard was seated already, currently talking to Roger. "Hey, you," she said as she arrived at her seat, kissing him on the lips, no longer caring who saw.

Leonard frowned at the sudden public display of affection, but it transformed into a smile quickly. "I guess you made a decision."

Penny grinned and nodded. "Uh huh. I'm thinking we'll be staying at my, no, _our_ place tonight. We can move your stuff over the next few days."

"Sounds good to me," Leonard said, shifting to be closer to her.

Penny smiled at him and then kissed him again. Now all her dreams had come true.


End file.
